Leave the Light On
by theshipperlogs
Summary: After finishing up a case at a ski resort, the employees of The Lightman Group take a few days to enjoy the slopes. But are things ever as simple as they seem?
1. Chapter 1

Leave the Light On

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Lie to Me…

Hot chocolate, a roaring fire, and falling snow were three things Gillian Foster loved about winter and at the moment, she had all three. Sitting by the fire, mug in hand, Gillian watched the snow fall outside, knowing that the skiing on Elk Mountain would be wonderful in the morning. She could think of nothing better than speeding down a hill of fresh powder to clear her head.

"You look comfortable."

Gillian looked up and smiled at Ben Reynolds. "I am. How was dinner?"

Ben sat down beside her on the hearth. "Well, if Loker and Ria weren't chewing, they were arguing, so it was pretty interesting. You've got quite the merry band there at The Lightman Group."

Gillian laughed and put her hand on his shoulder. "You're one of us too, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess I am," he replied. "How'd it go with the DA?

"Whitlock's being charged with 2nd degree murder and a dozen other charges," she replied, her voice turning to business mode. "He knew there would be people on the slopes when he triggered those avalanches. "

Ben thought back to three days ago when they'd been hired by the lodge to find out if any of it's employees had been responsible for a slate of man-made avalanches on it's slopes. Bobby Whitlock had been one of the resort's ski instructors and an environmental crusader hell bent on saving the remaining wilderness that on the mountain instead of making way for new slopes. With the help from the team, Cal and Gillian had been able to prove he was the murderer in their midst. Damon Price, the owner of the resort had been very grateful and had insisted they stay for a few days and enjoy themselves. Since they'd been working almost around the clock lately, Gillian had convinced Cal to give them all a few days off.

"Where's Lightman?" Ben asked, watching shadows fall over Gillian's bright eyes.

"Uh, not sure, after we had dinner he said he had something to do, and I went in search of hot chocolate and some place warm," Gillian answered, looking around the large lobby to see if her partner was lurking about anywhere.

"He's probably outside making snow angels," Ben joked.

Gillian couldn't help but laugh at the mental picture of Cal Lightman lying in the snow flailing about making snow angels.

"Hey, anything is possible. I never thought I'd see Gillian Foster dancing on the…"

Gillian clamped her hand over Ben's mouth. "What happens in Vegas…" she warned playfully, letting her hand fall from his mouth.

She pointed her finger at him. "You promised."

Ben made an x over his heart and nodded. "I'll never mention Vegas again."

"That will be fine with me," she said, taking a drink of the now lukewarm chocolate and wishing it was something stronger.

They sat in silence for a moment, watching the fire and the snow before Gillian finally said, "Did he ever ask?"

"No," Ben said almost sadly.

Gillian nodded and took another sip of the chocolate. It had been almost three months since she, Reynolds, and Lightman had returned from Las Vegas. None of them had said much about it. Cal had returned to DC and life as they'd known it had resumed. About the only thing that had changed was her friendship with Ben. He'd been there for her in Vegas and he continued to be someone she could count on.

Gillian looked up and smiled widely at Ben. "You ski?"

Ben started shaking his head, "Nah, nah, nah."

"Come on," she said. "It'll be fun…you showed me Vegas..let me teach you how to ski."

Gillian cocked her head to the side and gave him the biggest 'you know you want to' smile she could muster.

"Fine, but if I fall and break something, you're taking care of me," Ben said.

"Deal," she said, happily standing up. "I think I'll go on up to bed. See you in the morning about 9?"

"I'll be here," he said, hoping he did not live to regret skiing, better yet, just hoping he lived.

Gillian laughed and bent down to give him a kiss on the cheek, straightening up just in time to see Cal come up beside them.

"Anybody feel like a nightcap?" Cal offered, ignoring the scene he'd walked up on. He looked between the two, reading the situation; friendship, maybe more, especially on Ben's part.

"I'm just about to head up to bed," Gillian said, watching Cal's uneasiness. "Big day tomorrow."

Ben and Gillian shared a smile.

"Ok, what's the secret handshake that'll let me in on the joke?" Cal said impatiently.

"Not a joke, " Gillian said, an amusement in her voice. "Ben's never been skiing, so I offered to teach him."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that," Cal said, slapping Ben on the back. "Thin sticks, slippery ice, a bloody accident waitn' to happen."

"Yeah, that's why I took out an insurance policy," Ben joked, glancing at Gillian.

Cal looked confused, leaving it to Gillian to explain, "I promised I'd nurse him back to health if he broke anything."

A momentary image of Gillian in a short nurse's uniform tending to Ben's every whim flashed through his mind. Cal looked to Gillian, "Don't tell him that, he'll be breakin' somethin' on purpose."

They all laughed and Gillian finally excused herself to her room. Cal looked at Ben and put an arm around his shoulder. "Let's go get a drink."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Lie to Me is an entity entirely not owned by me!

AN: Thanks for all of the reviews and encouragement! Much appreciated

"You've got to be kidding me, Cal," Gillian said, looking up from the morning paper. "I thought we wrapped all of this up. We got the guy. He's sitting in county lockup right now."

Cal Lightman just shrugged and sat down across from her, stealing a piece of bacon in the process. "There's a cabin about half way up the mountain. Sheriff says Mr. Price thinks Whitlock may have an accomplice, might be staying there, said one of the instructors saw smoke coming from the place " he said, trying to look apologetic. "Thought we should check it out."

"We vetted everyone else," Gillian said, exasperated by his utter lack of ability to relax. She folded the paper and took a drink of her coffee. "No one else had signs of deception. And why do you have to go back up the mountain to prove it? And why can't you take Loker?"

"I sent Loker and Torres back into town to talk to Whitlock again," Cal explained, motioning for the waiter to bring him a plate of whatever Gillian was having for breakfast.

"And Ben? I'm supposed to meet him in an hour," Gillian said, watching the way he eyed her croissant, finally just handing it to him, only to be greeted with a very adorable smile.

"Well, Foster, Ben and I stayed up a little late last night. He was looking a little worse for the wear when I dropped him off at his room a coupla hours ago. Don't think he's ready to go traipsing through the woods," Cal said innocently. "I told him we should probably stop after the third shot, but he just wouldn't listen."

"I bet," Gillian said glaring at him. Cal cocked his head to the side. Gillian knew that was his way of saying _I may screw up, but you still love me._

The waiter placed a plate and silverware in front of Cal and offered him coffee or tea, with Cal taking the later.

"When do we leave?" Gillian said, grateful that she already had her ski clothes on and knowing it would be easier to give in.

Cal swallowed part of a bite and answered, "Snowmobile leaves in ten."

Gillian finished the last of her coffee, stood and grabbed her coat, "We'll I guess I should at least leave Ben a message and change my ski rental to the afternoon."

"Still planning on torturing….uhm, I mean teaching poor Reynolds how to ski?" he asked as she looked down at him.

"I'll meet you out front."

"Be out in a minute, luv," Cal said, watching her leave. A small voice of remorse crept into his head for a brief moment. He'd purposefully kept Ben out late the night before, knowing that an early morning ski lesson would not be fun with a hangover. And even though Cal thought they might just be going out on a wild goose chase, Ben would have been the obvious choice to take to a remote mountain cabin sheltering a guy capable of murder, but they were bringing along a sheriff's deputy and if Whitlock had had an accomplice, chances were he was long gone by then.

Fifteen minutes later, the four of them were standing just outside the lodge putting some gear on the back of the snowmobiles. She'd left a message with Ben and had gone outside to find a very young sheriff's deputy and the lodge owner, Warren Price, waiting. Cal had been only seconds behind her.

"How far up?" Gillian asked, thankful she'd brought her sunglass as the early morning sun glared off the snow.

"About six miles," Price said, slipping on his leather gloves and harnessing the last pack to the snowmobile. "I appreciate the two of you coming along. It will make things a lot easier if we can tell if the person staying up there has anything to do with this without making a scene of dragging a potentially innocent man into town. The PR around here's been bad enough."

The deputy climbed on the first snowmobile followed by Price. Cal and Gillian followed suit with Gillian sitting behind Cal.

"You know how to drive one of these things?" Gillian whispered in his ear, knowing that she probably should have asked the question before she'd climbed on the back of it with him. To say that Cal had a bit of a daredevil streak in him would be putting it mildly.

Cal glanced back at his wide-eyed passenger and smiled. "Don't worry, luv. Just hang on and enjoy the ride."

Gillian couldn't help but smile. "I bet you say that to all the girls," she teased.

"You two ready?" Deputy Falmuth interrupted. "It's about a thirty minute ride before we reach the site and we're expecting a few more inches of heavy snow this afternoon, won't be able to see a foot in front of you."

"Let's go then, shall we," Cal commanded, ready for a little action. He passed Gillian back a helmet before putting on his own.

The two snowmobiles began the journey up the vehicle path toward the wooded area of the mountain. Leading the way, the deputy and Mr. Price stayed steadily in front, while Cal maneuvered the machine through the snow. Gillian was surprised by the power of the snowmobile, leaning into her partner; she put her hands around him so that they were molded to his chest. His body warmth was a welcome plus to holding him so close, and he smelled of the cologne she'd given him for his birthday. Things had been tense between them since Vegas. The line that they'd been chipping away at since her divorce had been reinforced, but as she snuggled in close to him it reminded her of how much she wanted them to get closer.

The scenery was all pretty much the same; snow, trees, white and blue sky. Gillian tried to look around to see if there was any indication that they were closing in on their destination, but they'd turned off of the main path some time ago onto a secondary trail. There were no signs, just a bit of the worn down snow that even indicated this was an actual trail.

Looking on up the hill, Gillian noticed that the other snowmobile had pulled quite a distance ahead. Obviously, Cal had noticed too as he revved the machine and it sped faster, but it seemed like the faster Cal pushed the engine the less ground they were able to make up. _Damn, they really are anxious to get up there_, Gillian thought.

It took another mile of playing cat and mouse for Gillian to realize that something was wrong, and she could tell by the change in Cal's muscle tension that he had the same suspicion. The two snowmobiles approached a deep bend in the path, Cal struggling to keep them in sight. Rounding the corner, Cal could barely make out the other snowmobile in the distance speeding through a patch of trees. He maneuvered through the trees and up a steep incline, adrenaline surging through his body. He was ready to bloody kill them when he caught up with them. Gillian's grip on him had tightened considerably and he was trying his best not to scare her anymore than he had to. As the snowmobile topped the hill they caught air and landed hard. Gillian scrambled furiously to keep her grip on Cal but the force of the impact was too much. Thrust backwards, Gillian fell from the still moving snowmobile. Hitting the hard-packed snow was the last thing Gillian remembered as everything around her went black.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This is just a short chapter to move the plot along. Thanks again for all the great reviews. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy when I'm surrounded by all this snow.

Ria Torres was not happy, at least not at the moment. Standing just outside what served at the justice center. Loker walked toward her, normal, goofy smirk on his face.

"Did you really think he'd just be able to sit back and relax and let us all have a nice little vacation?" Loker said matter of factly.

Ria rolled her eyes and replied, "No."

"Hey, we'll go in here talk to the guy, make sure he was working alone," Loker appeased with a soft smile. "Then we'll get in a couple of runs before the storm sets in. The first hot chocolate's on me."

Torres reluctantly smiled and nodded. Loker opened the plain glass door and followed his fellow "lie detector" to the front desk where a young woman sat doing her nails.

"Uhm, My name is Eli Loker and this is Ria Torres. We work for The Lightman Group. We're here to speak to Mr. Whitlock," Loker said, showing the woman his company id.

"Mr. Whitlock's not here," she said, finally standing to peer at Loker's id, and looking at him appreciatively when she finally noticed him. "They took him about an hour ago."

"Took him? Where?" Torres said, leaning on the desk.

Still looking at Loker, she answered, "Didn't Falmuth tell you? Whitlock hung himself in his cell sometime in the middle of the night."

Loker looked at Torres, his confusion evident.

"Hung himself?" Loker asked.

"Yeah, Falmuth found him this morning," she said, beginning to suspect something was wrong. "When I came in, he said to call the coroner and that he had a meeting up at the lodge."

"What time was this?" Torres asked bluntly.

"Round eight or so. I was a few minutes late this morning," she said. "At least with that crazy dude dead the avalanches will stop. I'm all for trees and such but I've been hoping that if Mr. Price keeps expanding, he'll get us a Starbucks up here? I mean the diner coffee is ok, but it's no…"

"Thank you," Loker said, cutting her off and following Ria out the door and back to the car.

"So Falmuth knew Whitlock was dead before he ever went over to the lodge, and he obviously didn't tell Lightman or he never would have sent us down here," Torres said. "We need to talk to Lightman and find Ben."


	4. Chapter 4

It only took Cal only a second to miss Foster's warmth behind him. Looking back, he could make out her dark form lying in the snow. Glancing forward, the other snowmobile was out of sight, turning around Cal made it to Gillian's side just as the panic was seeping in, replacing the anger of losing the others.

Kneeling in the snow, Cal pulled off his gloves violently with his teeth and put his hand to Gillian's neck looking for her pulse. Relief washed over him as he quickly found it pounding soundly. He looked to her face expecting to see her beautiful blue eyes flutter open, but as the heart beats ticked by, Gillian was still motionless on the snow. Cal looked around her body to see if he could find any signs of bleeding, but there was nothing he could see out here in the open and he couldn't risk taking her clothes off to get a better look as cold as it was. Next, he put his cheek over her mouth to see if she was breathing. She was. Turning his head, he could feel his breath mingle with hers. In another time and place he would give anything to be this close to her.

"Gill," he said, using all of his professional skills to keep his voice steady. "Come on, luv. Open your eyes."

Still nothing.

The panic was starting to creep from his head to his chest and with every frozen breath he could feel his the constriction more and more. Cal's head shot up looking around for anyone or anything that could help him. No one, nothing but the trees and an endless blanket of snow.

"Gillian, now'd be a good time to wake up, darling," he said putting his hands to his mouth to heat them with his breath. He pulled off his jacket and draped it over her body and pulled her up off of the snow and into his arms, his lips went to her forehead as if checking a child for a fever. "I need someone to yell at me, keep me straight. I need you Gill. Just wake up."

Cal knew it was time to make a decision. Leaving her there was out of the question. By the time he got back, she'd have succumbed to hypothermia. Cal shook his head, he had to think. He had to save her. He'd been in more life and death situations than he cared to admit, but this was Gillian. He immediately began berating himself for dragging her into this situation in the first place. If he'd not been so jealous of the time she was spending with Ben, she'd be safely giving him lessons right now instead of lying unconscious in the snow.

Cal checked her pulse again and gently laid her back onto the snow. He ran back over to the snow mobile and pulled out the pack they'd stored away. He knew there should be some kind of walkie talkie or radio or something, anything he could use to get help. He brought the pack back over to Gillian started unzipping different compartments until he finally found a two way radio. Relief washed over him as he flipped it on and started pleading for help, but after getting no answer on any of the channels and the total lack of sound he realized it wasn't working.

"Son of a bitch" he yelled, banging it against his hand to make it work, but it didn't. He flipped it over and opened the battery compartment, only to find it empty. He put his head in his hands. They'd been set up and he'd walked right into it. Set up, either by the deputy or Price or both and now Gillian was paying the price.

"Cal."

Cal looked over to see Gillian staring back up at him, confusion settled on her face. He let out a breath as the relief washed over him. He'd never been more thankful.

"Hey, luv," he said softly, taking her hand in his. "You scared me there for a bit."

Gillian tried to sit up, her head swimming in the process.

"Hey, easy there," Cal said, pulling her to him again. Gillian sighed at the amount of strength it had taken for her to sit up. She settled her cheek against his coat. Her head felt like it'd been put in a vice. Her entire body ached and the cold was settling into her clothing.

"What happened?" she asked, her teeth starting to chatter from the cold.

"You fell off the snow mobile while we were trying to keep up with the others. We've been set up," Cal said angrily. "Whitlock did have a partner."

"Deputy Falmuth," Gillian answered, the fog in her mind staring to clear. "He was the only person we never questioned about the avalanches and he seemed a little to eager to get up on the mountain today."

Cal thought about it for a moment, berating himself again for dragging her into this. He should have seen it.

"Stop it," Gillian said, looking up at him. "It's not your fault."

He looked down at her and she could immediately tell he was going to blame himself no matter what she said.

"Do you think you can ride back down?" Cal asked, pulling her up to where she was practically sitting on his lap.

"Don't have much of a choice, do I," she replied touching her head.

"Fraid not, sweetheart," Cal answered gently put his arms around her and brought the both of them to their feet, holding on to her while she got her bearings. Her hands gripped tightly to his biceps as she struggled to maintain her balance while the world around her was swimming. She looked at Cal, his face only inches from hers, her focus on him steadied her mind until finally she could loosen her grip on him. She handed his coat to him.

Cal guided her back over to the snow mobile, making sure she was securely settled before straddling it himself. He turned the key and pushed the button but nothing happened. He did it again, same thing. Getting up, Cal yanked open the engine hood and frantically looked for the problem. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He looked all around the small engine, but nothing was wrong, no reason that damn thing shouldn't start. He stepped back to get a handle on the situation and it was then that he noticed the dark puddle seeping out the side. He stuck a finger in the liquid and let out a string of curses. It was oil.

"What's the problem?" Gillian said, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth.

"We landed hard over that last ridge, must a knocked somethin' loose," Cal spat.

"Guess we walk," Gillian said slowly opening and closing her eyes, her head pounding.

"You alright?" he said, putting his hand to her cheek and guiding her eyes up to his. He could see the fear and pain in her eyes. She could see the reassurance in his eyes and she nodded confidently.

Cal looked around at their surroundings again, his fight or flight sense telling him they needed to get on the move. Somebody was trying to make sure the truth stayed buried and he was certain they'd come back around to make sure the job was done.

"We need to get outta here, luv," he said, trying to decide which way to go. "I figure we got a few hours before Loker and Torres realize somethin's up."

"The storm will be here by then," Gillian said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the map she'd tucked away there earlier. Pulling it open, Cal looked over her shoulder.

"The cabin's only about a half mile northeast," Gillian said, looking for any place they could take shelter, her eyes not exactly cooperating after the fall. "I don't think I can make it back down before the snow sets in."

"That's probably where they've holed up," Cal said, scanning the map for the third time for any place they could go.

"Doesn't look like we have much of a choice. We can't stay here," Gillian said.

Cal gathered the pack from the snow mobile and going through it again: matches, a couple of protein bars, first aid kit and a few other essentials.

"There is one other option," she said, knowing what his answer would be before she even suggested it.

He looked at her, reading her. "No," he said flatly, making a wild gesture with his free hand.

"You can make it down and get help a lot faster if you go by yourself," she offered.

"If you think I'd bloody leave you here, you got hit on the head a lot harder than I thought, Foster," he said sternly. "Falmuth will be back. He wouldn't just ride off. He's planning something and I'll be damned if I'm going to leave you here."

Gillian knew when Cal's mind was made up, she nodded and got up off the snow mobile, praying that her head would cooperate with her body.

"Let's get going then."

TBC

_HMMM What do you think will happen when they finally get to the cabin? _


End file.
